http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/keyword/human-rights Inquiries Journal provides undergraduate and graduate students around the world a platform for the wide dissemination of academic work over a range of core disciplines. en-us Fri, 14 Aug 2026 17:11:14 -0400 Fri, 14 Aug 2026 17:11:14 -0400 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1928/structural-violence-in-the-queer-community-a-comparative-analysis-of-international-human-rights-protections-for-lbtiq-people By Misty Farquhar - This paper discusses the structural violence experienced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex, or queer (LGBTIQ+) people and people with disabilities (PWD), and reviews the international human rights protections available to each group through United Nations (UN) processes. It begins by exploring the human rights issues faced by LGBTIQ+ people, the impacts on their health and wellbeing, and the lack of international systems in place to protect them. It then repeats the process for PWD and highlights the efficacy of the protections afforded them. A comparative analysis contextualises the... Mon, 20 Dec 2021 09:19 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1928/structural-violence-in-the-queer-community-a-comparative-analysis-of-international-human-rights-protections-for-lbtiq-people http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1847/genocide-memorialization-in-the-modern-era-communal-mourning-through-institutions-and-culture By Emily Bennett - Genocide Memorialization focuses on the community after a genocide in what they choose to remember and how they achieve that goal of memorialization. Memorialization efforts are museums, institutions, policy, law, education, documentaries and first person accounts and testimonies. By examining the precedent set by the aftermath of the Holocaust and the Genocide Convention of 1948, future survivors of genocide are able to expand the precedent or potentially ignore the precedent by no longer recognizing a genocide. After introducing the Holocaust I examine three modern genocides: The Indonesian... Mon, 07 Dec 2020 01:23 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1847/genocide-memorialization-in-the-modern-era-communal-mourning-through-institutions-and-culture http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1806/the-effectiveness-of-the-international-criminal-court-challenges-and-pathways-for-prosecuting-human-rights-violations By Sarah J. Goodman - Of the thousands of potential cases that could have been investigated by the International Criminal Court (ICC), only 44 individuals have been indicted, with 45 cases currently before the ICC. Further, only 14 out of the 45 have resulted in a complete proceeding, and only nine were convicted. Scholars in the field have not adequately addressed why cases come before the ICC and how this process may result in a full hearing and verdict. Because of these gaps, empirically-informed recommendations for areas of improvement for the ICC are also largely absent. To begin to fill these gaps, this research... Wed, 30 Sep 2020 12:04 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1806/the-effectiveness-of-the-international-criminal-court-challenges-and-pathways-for-prosecuting-human-rights-violations http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1801/abu-ghraib-homonationalism-and-the-rationalization-of-modern-torture By Emma D. Rosner - Drawing on Jasbir Puar’s analysis of homonationalism in the post-9/11 United States, I investigate the Orientalist and Islamophobic discourses present in liberal and LGBTQ news articles and human rights reports responding to the release of torture photos from Abu Ghraib prison in May 2004. This study looks at how Western journalists and human rights organizations from diverse political and social identifications bolstered the homonationalist project in their responses to torture at Abu Ghraib. In doing so, it reveals homonationalism as a discourse with multiple iterations that differ across... Thu, 24 Sep 2020 10:18 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1801/abu-ghraib-homonationalism-and-the-rationalization-of-modern-torture http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1757/gender-based-violence-in-refugee-camps-understanding-and-addressing-the-role-of-gender-in-the-experiences-of-refugees By Mie A. Jensen - The discussion of 'women's rights' is often subsumed into the broader consideration of 'human rights,' but when it comes to understanding the experiences of the world's most vulnerable people — refugees — the issue of gender cannot be ignored. The experiences of refugees depend on one’s gender, where women are significantly disadvantaged. Globally, 80% of the refugee and internally displaced people are children and women, which leaves them in a vulnerable position (Qayum, Mohmand and Arooj 2012:63); this includes vulnerability to physical attacks, sexual assaults, and transactional... Tue, 05 Feb 2019 09:10 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1757/gender-based-violence-in-refugee-camps-understanding-and-addressing-the-role-of-gender-in-the-experiences-of-refugees http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1702/domestic-violence-and-the-indian-womens-movement-a-short-history By Kaamila Patherya - The Indian women’s movement, from the 1920s until the 1970s, was heavily influenced and directed by the external economic and political forces of the nation, to the effect that women’s issues were effectively sidelined, never occupying central concern in the minds of people. The period from the 1920s until Independence saw the imbuement of the women’s movement with nationalist politics, its contours shaped by the on-going struggle for freedom from British imperialism. This period, from the 1920s to the 1970s, was characterized by the inception of various local women’s associations... Wed, 08 Nov 2017 10:33 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1702/domestic-violence-and-the-indian-womens-movement-a-short-history http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1642/libya-2011-exploring-the-implementation-of-the-responsibility-to-protect By Andrew R. Aubuchon - This article explores the role that the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) played in the 2011 intervention in Libya. It examines the R2P legal framework in coordination with events on the ground in Libya during the early part of 2011 in order to thoroughly explain that R2P was correctly invoked by the United Nations Security Council in order to uphold international law. The article argues that this mandate allowed for the lawful intervention by NATO thereafter. However, the R2P was not fully carried out. The law clearly mandates actions that must be taken upon the conclusion of fighting carried out... Thu, 11 May 2017 10:26 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1642/libya-2011-exploring-the-implementation-of-the-responsibility-to-protect http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1552/world-war-ii-in-the-united-states-colony-of-the-philippines-beyond-the-bataan-death-march-and-douglas-macarthur By Martha M. Helak - World War II ranks among the deadliest military conflicts in history. From 1939-1945, the estimated number of casualties worldwide exceeded 60 million.[1] The United States suffered military fatalities in excess of four hundred thousand, and the Philippines, an archipelago in Southeast Asia and an American colony from 1898 to1946, endured horrifying atrocities such as the Bataan Death March.[2] One hundred thousand Filipino civilians (the majority being women, children, and the elderly), were ultimately slaughtered by Japanese Marines during the sack of Manila.[3] By March of 1945, this cosmopolitan... Tue, 07 Mar 2017 05:03 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1552/world-war-ii-in-the-united-states-colony-of-the-philippines-beyond-the-bataan-death-march-and-douglas-macarthur http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1542/reinterpreting-the-treatment-of-the-rural-population-by-perus-shining-path By Auston Stiefer - The Peruvian Communist Party (PCP) was founded as the Peruvian Socialist Party in 1928 by José Carlos Mariátegui after his analysis of the “semifeudal” Peruvian economic state, which did not strictly follow Marx’s socialist model.1 Just over 30 years later, the PCP began to radically transform under the teaching of Maoist thought by Abimael Guzmán, a philosophy professor at the National University of Haumanga and future leader of the party.2 Over the next two decades, the PCP renamed the Sendero Lumnioso (“Shining Path”) drew upon Mariá... Wed, 22 Feb 2017 11:33 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1542/reinterpreting-the-treatment-of-the-rural-population-by-perus-shining-path http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1503/the-lgbt-movement-in-china-public-perception-stigma-and-the-human-rights-debate By Arber Mavraj - Ever since its elimination from the list of mental illnesses in 2001, and decriminalization in 1997, homosexuality in China continues to be at the forefront of China’s growing human rights debate. The estimated 40 million lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgendered (LGBT) Chinese[1] are victims of violence or discrimination both inside and outside their families and do not have equal access to justice and social services, such a legal aid, counseling, or health-care due the predominantly negative public opinion regarding sexual orientation and gender identity[2]. Likewise, the portrayal of... Mon, 05 Dec 2016 10:56 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1503/the-lgbt-movement-in-china-public-perception-stigma-and-the-human-rights-debate http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1436/depoliticizing-and-deconstructing-human-rights-changing-the-lens-through-which-we-view-universal-human-rights By Uday V. Garg - This paper is an attempt to navigate through existing theories of universalisation of human rights and existing justifications thereof. It is premised on several cultural and political notions that it takes as starting points, not as truisms, but through ideological deconstruction, which enable positively directing the aforementioned navigation, with the object of illustrating fundamental flaws in the current regimes, both political and discursive, of the human rights movement. The paper derives this idea from Mutua’s (2001) article, and takes it forward to proposing an alternative regime... Thu, 01 Sep 2016 09:20 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1436/depoliticizing-and-deconstructing-human-rights-changing-the-lens-through-which-we-view-universal-human-rights http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1408/exploiting-the-poor-and-powerless-forced-labor-systems-in-the-early-and-later-modern-world By Drew Liquerman - Our world has witnessed significant shifts, transformations, and evolution in government systems, the balance of power among nations, economics, the rights of men and women, and social structures and relationships over the past 500 years. However, the plight of the poor and powerless worker has remained static. Societies blessed by climate, latitude, disease resistance, powerful militaries, and a little bit of luck have used this opportunity to exploit others. Throughout recorded history, nations and cultures have taken advantage of the cheap or free labor of conquered areas or the downtrodden... Sat, 14 May 2016 07:46 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1408/exploiting-the-poor-and-powerless-forced-labor-systems-in-the-early-and-later-modern-world http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1382/the-development-agenda-after-the-millenium-development-goals-is-the-post-2015-agenda-truly-transformative By Florence Lee - In 2014, the United Nations called for "a truly transformative agenda to follow the Millennium Development Goals." This study applies a critical qualitative discourse and textual analysis to examine the first priority of the agenda—to end extreme poverty and hunger—set fourth in The Action Agenda for Sustainable Development Report (SDSN) and assesses the extent to which this ‘transformative agenda’ is likely to be achieved. This study found that the report's goal of ‘ending hunger and poverty’ encouraged implementation strategies that were conceptually narrow... Fri, 25 Mar 2016 02:49 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1382/the-development-agenda-after-the-millenium-development-goals-is-the-post-2015-agenda-truly-transformative http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1371/book-review-planet-of-slums-by-mike-davis-2006 By Florence Lee - In essence, Davis blames neoliberalism for these problems. The ‘villains’, or driving forces behind modern slum creation, are the World Bank and the IMF. And Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) – conditions attached to provisional loans that poor countries are subjected to whereby neoliberal market policies (opening up of the market, removing trade barriers and excess state control) are promoted – have been the reason. By encouraging less trade subsidies and privatization, SAPs lead to borrowers having to cut back on public taxation and spending. Davis states that millions... Sat, 27 Feb 2016 02:29 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1371/book-review-planet-of-slums-by-mike-davis-2006 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1312/what-was-the-influence-of-cosmopolitan-law-on-the-permanent-court-of-international-justice By Melissa S. McHugh - At the heart of many contemporary international organizations, such as the United Nations, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC), the theory underpinning cosmopolitan law represents the ideal they strive to achieve in a world plagued with war, conflict, and genocide. Before the UN, the ICJ and the ICC, the League of Nations established the Permanent Court of International Justice (PCIJ)—not as a utopian realization of Immanuel Kant’s perpetual peace, but as a tool for European nations to seek rational resolutions to disputes arising from... Fri, 20 Nov 2015 10:43 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1312/what-was-the-influence-of-cosmopolitan-law-on-the-permanent-court-of-international-justice http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1362/human-rights-framing-in-us-newspaper-coverage-of-the-sochi-olympic-preparations By Michelle Alfini - Every two years, the global spotlight shines on the Olympics and the nation hosting them. The Games provide an example of a "mega-event," which means a globally recognized occurrence of "shortlived collective cultural actions" that are perceived to have "extra-ordinary status" based on their large scale and scope (Xi, 2013). These mega-events attract media engagement from around the globe, and their host nations have long used such events as opportunities to reframe their national narratives and achieve greater status in the international community (Roche, 2000; Black, 2006). In addition to international... Wed, 18 Nov 2015 12:00 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1362/human-rights-framing-in-us-newspaper-coverage-of-the-sochi-olympic-preparations http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1216/transitional-justice-and-religion-an-examination-of-faith-based-actors-in-kenyan-civil-society By Maddie Powell - First, the paper examines civil society’s response to post-election violence that occured in 2007-2008, with a key focus on the response of faith-based actors. In this instance, the International Criminal Court indicted Kenyatta, Ruto, and others for their involvement in the violence. The formation of a Truth, Justice, and Reconciliation Commission also followed the incident.  Second, the paper turns to the very recent case of the Kenyan government offering amnesty to Shabaab militants after the brutal Garissa University College attack in April 2015. This section of the paper focuses... Wed, 14 Oct 2015 11:03 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1216/transitional-justice-and-religion-an-examination-of-faith-based-actors-in-kenyan-civil-society http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1092/the-human-rights-impacts-of-vawa-2013-a-true-victory-for-native-american-women By Lauren R. Kelly - The level of gender violence against native women in the United States has reached epidemic proportions. Furthermore, the vast majority of Native American gender violence victims are abused at the hands of non-native men. Native American tribes are considered to be “domestic dependents” of the United States, meaning that they have the inherent authority to govern themselves and also maintain U.S. citizenship rights. This system creates multiple overlapping governing systems on tribal reservations, as illustrated by determining jurisdiction over gender violence crimes. Tribal courts... Fri, 01 May 2015 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1092/the-human-rights-impacts-of-vawa-2013-a-true-victory-for-native-american-women http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1180/colombias-opportunity-for-transitional-justice By Ana Luquerna - This paper will focus on the extreme tension between the Colombian government, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the Patriotic Union (UP) political party. Even though Colombia has been labeled a democratic country since the 1970s, its failure to successfully participate in transitional justice has inhibited the growth of a full democracy. In addition to explaining the tensions between the FARC, UP, and the Colombian government, this paper will explain how elements of transitional justice, such as the integration/demobilization of armed groups back into society and... Wed, 15 Apr 2015 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1180/colombias-opportunity-for-transitional-justice http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1016/mob-violence-against-women-in-algeria-a-historical-case-analysis By Renee S. Grozelle - Violence against women has recently become well recognized as a violation of human rights that holds worldwide significance. Unfortunately, violence against women outside of North America has gone largely unnoticed among the academic community and the media. Algerian citizens have seen this failure to acknowledge violent incidents targeting women as a simplistic representation of underlying problems facing Algerian women in local communities. This paper applies Marshall and Stockes’ (1981) Schematic Presentation of Political Contingencies in an effort to identify historical and cultural... Fri, 20 Mar 2015 03:36 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1016/mob-violence-against-women-in-algeria-a-historical-case-analysis http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1071/access-to-education-for-girls-in-the-rural-regions-of-afghanistan-following-the-fall-of-the-taliban By Innes Leighton - At present, ‘more than 80 percent of Afghan women are illiterate’.1 However, in the rural regions of Afghanistan, where more than 74 percent of the population lives, the illiteracy rate of females is closer to 93 percent.2 Following the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in 1919, ‘successive Afghan governments have used women or the idea of women, as pawns for political legitimization.’3 This manipulation resulted in significantly divergent swings in attitudes towards the presence of Afghan women and girls in public life. This report will focus specifically... Thu, 01 Jan 2015 07:58 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1071/access-to-education-for-girls-in-the-rural-regions-of-afghanistan-following-the-fall-of-the-taliban http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/936/the-evolution-of-human-rights-law-in-europe-comparing-the-european-court-of-human-rights-and-the-ecj-icj-and-icc By Donna V. Artusy - Human rights protection in Europe evolved significantly over the last century, culminating in the creation of the European Court of Human Rights. Unfortunately, the decisions made by the European Court of Human Rights are not binding and do not serve as precedent for future cases. The court has the potential to hold significantly greater influence over human rights protection, but its institutional structure and guiding doctrine (the European Convention on Human Rights) does not allow for this. Although the Court maintains jurisdiction over a smaller number of states, it has a more significant... Mon, 03 Nov 2014 03:49 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/936/the-evolution-of-human-rights-law-in-europe-comparing-the-european-court-of-human-rights-and-the-ecj-icj-and-icc http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1591/to-intervene-or-not-to-intervene-the-role-of-humanitarianism-un-approval-and-economic-incentives-in-determning-nato-military-intervention-in-conflict By Megan Nissel - The North American Treaty Organization (NATO) was founded at the outset of the Cold War and served as a collective defense alliance of states in North America and Western Europe against the Soviet bloc. However, following the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union, the role of NATO evolved and the organization began to take part in military interventions. This paper examines the impact of three variables on determining NATO intervention: human rights violations in a conflict, U.N. calls for action, and economic incentives measured in terms of trade. Using a qualitative case study... Sat, 31 May 2014 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1591/to-intervene-or-not-to-intervene-the-role-of-humanitarianism-un-approval-and-economic-incentives-in-determning-nato-military-intervention-in-conflict http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1593/policy-and-place-in-international-economic-coercion By Cullen Moran - This paper investigates factors that contribute to the effectiveness of international economic sanctions. A review of existing literature on sanctions reveals that scholars of economic statecraft have largely neglected to consider two variables – the policy goals of the sender and the place where sanctions are implemented – in their analyses of sanctions success. This study uses multiple analyses of variance to establish that policy and place do account for a degree of variation in the success rate of sanctions. Causal mechanisms that reflect the role of the power-maximizing policymaker... Sat, 31 May 2014 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1593/policy-and-place-in-international-economic-coercion http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/744/net-neutrality-a-human-right-for-the-digital-age By Sujay Kulshrestha - Though an internet speakeasy seems far-fetched in our age of free speech, it suggests why the neutrality of the internet is such a precious resource. Since its inception, the internet has existed in a largely uncontrolled and apolitical form, with few restrictions on its growth and eventual ubiquity. With certain exceptions, such as child pornography and obscenity, the growth of the internet in the Western world has followed a model of "net neutrality," in which internet content and access have remained largely unregulated. Unfortunately, concerns about copyright infringement from entertainment... Sun, 11 Aug 2013 08:20 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/744/net-neutrality-a-human-right-for-the-digital-age http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1607/women-in-the-schoolhouse-whitehouse-and-whorehouse-empowering-sex-trafficked-women-in-southeast-asia-through-education-and-political-participation By Matthew Lozada - While the enslavement of humans has been occurring even before the dawn of written history, today's form of slavery occurs on an unprecedented scale in both scope and reach. This work attempts to understand the most vulnerable sectors of population groups and the strength of the laws in Southeast Asian countries that address the human trafficking epidemic in the region. This endeavor uses quantitative analysis through the linear regression function of the SPSS program to operationalize and see whether the factors of gender parity, educational attainment, or political representation show strong... Fri, 31 May 2013 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1607/women-in-the-schoolhouse-whitehouse-and-whorehouse-empowering-sex-trafficked-women-in-southeast-asia-through-education-and-political-participation http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/732/addressing-the-use-of-sexual-violence-as-a-strategic-weapon-of-war By Joshua A. Jones - This paper examines historical and contemporary instances wherein sexual violence, specifically rape, was used as a strategic weapon amid both traditional and tribal conflict, as well as in genocidal operations. It analyzes the cogency of sexual violence as a weapon by considering its physical and psychological effects on victims and the morale of targeted populations. Additionally, it scrutinizes the motivations and intentions that support the use of sexual violence during armed conflict in order to ascertain potential methods by which the incentive may be removed or mediated. The intent of this... Mon, 01 Apr 2013 08:39 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/732/addressing-the-use-of-sexual-violence-as-a-strategic-weapon-of-war http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/718/minorities-and-homelessness-in-the-united-states-and-europe-a-comparative-analysis By Carmen Radu - This study asks the question of why minorities are so overrepresented among the homeless, with a focus on the United States and Europe in a comparative perspective. I combine Charles Tilly’s theoretical model on how to challenge durable inequality with the human rights approach, and argue that only a human rights approach that addresses the full spectrum of rights can challenge durable inequality and overcome the problem of minority overrepresentation among the homeless, by challenging the structures of social exclusion. This research adds to the growing literature that focuses specifically... Wed, 26 Dec 2012 01:05 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/718/minorities-and-homelessness-in-the-united-states-and-europe-a-comparative-analysis http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1211/should-the-responsibility-to-protect-be-enshrined-in-international-law By Amanda Lo - The structure of the paper is as follows. First, I will discuss the historical background that gave rise to the concept of the “responsibility to protect” in order to understand its purpose and definition. Next, I will address the inherent tensions found within the responsibility to protect, and will focus on the tensions between the moral responsibility versus legal responsibility of states when they are faced with the “responsibility to protect.” Through the case of Libya, I argue that humanitarian concerns do not override the importance of the principle of state sovereignty... Thu, 01 Nov 2012 06:41 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1211/should-the-responsibility-to-protect-be-enshrined-in-international-law http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1212/campaign-of-devastation-assessing-motives-for-the-russian-governments-1999-2000-destruction-of-chechnya By Laura Resnick - In 1999, the Russian government all but razed Chechnya’s capital city of Groznyy. The Russian military devastated Chechnya, killing thousands of civilians and wiping out vital infrastructure, signifying the capstone in a campaign of destruction inflicted on Chechnya to crush the burgeoning separatist movement. Government-rebel attacks like this one occur when governments seek to end insurgent campaigns by using force to kill rebels and destroy their base of support.1 The unusual paradox in the Russian-Chechen conflict was that the Russian government’s ultimate intent was to stop the... Thu, 01 Nov 2012 06:41 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1212/campaign-of-devastation-assessing-motives-for-the-russian-governments-1999-2000-destruction-of-chechnya